Craft brewer claims a first with biodegradable packaging

URBAN Alley Brewery, located in Melbourne’s inner-city Docklands District, launches this week with a purpose.

Sure. There’s a dedication to making great beer, served with super food in its brewpub – kind of New York loft meets Melbourne warehouse.

But driving innovation at the brewery is a self-imposed challenge to push the boundaries of sustainable practice in its beer production, end-to-end, but particularly with waste, energy consumption and gas emissions.

So, naturally the crew are crowing about sourcing from the US a breakthrough, biodegradable six-pack can holder with the sexy name E6PR.

They claim Urban Allery Brewery is currently the only brewery in Australia and the 5th brewery in the world to use these six-pack holders. They can be eaten. They’re made from spent grain.

You’ve no doubt seen the horror stories of the plastic can six-pack holders torturing marine animals.

The E6PR is a great alternative to plastic and it is also edible to marine life – and humans if you get really hungry.

Edible six-pack can packaging

The 25 hectare-litre brewhouse is set to produce 1 million litres per year.

It’s also partnered with a neighbouring distillery to develop a heat exchange pipe network that maximises energy – basically, if the brewery creates heated water through a cooling process then the distillery can use it save gas on a heating process, and vice versa.

Urban Alley Brewery has also developed an on-site bio-waste plant allowing for “waste” to be converted and repurposed as fertilizer.

They are just a couple of a few other sustainability stories the brewpub is passionate about, but you’ll have to drop in for a beer and a bite to eat and ask the crew about them.

You could be drinking the signature Urban Ale, which has been around for a couple of years.

Or any of the new brews launching this month to mark the brewpub opening – Urban Lager, Urban APA and Urban Dark. Monthly and seasonal limited releases will down the track add spice to the offering.

Urban Ale cans will soon be available for purchase across Victoria at leading retailers, including Liqourland. For more information visit urbanalley.com.au.